


Runaway

by kihyxns



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Anxiety, I love Jihoon by the way, Jicheol, Jihoon centric, M/M, Panic Attack, broken Jihoon, i don't know the ship name okay, like Chan and Seokmin get mentioned once???, mentions of abuse, mentions of depression, slight Jihoon/Seungcheol, slight jicheol, thats what it is, this is just the whole group
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-29 23:47:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6399136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kihyxns/pseuds/kihyxns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jihoon runs away from an abusive home and needs a place to stay. Even though there is already twelve people living in the apartment Soonyoung thinks that one more couldn't hurt, he's tiny anyway. </p>
<p>But Jihoon brings a lot more baggage than anyone expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Runaway

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again, if you get triggered by:  
> Mentions of abuse  
> Mentions of depression  
> Anxiety  
> Descriptions and mentions of panic attacks  
> Then please do not read this one shot, love you guys, stay safe lovelies :)
> 
> [I'm sorry for breaking Jihoon a little]

_January 26th, 2016, 20:34 ___

It's cold out. The snow falls in dirty white clumps. Jihoon is out in a thin white t shirt, some soaked canvas shoes and just a pair of denim jeans. He's freezing. The snow had drenched down to his skin about two hours ago. He's got no where to go. Maybe jumping on the first train out of his small hometown wasn't the best idea after all.

-

Soonyoung is out. The 24/7 store was only a ten minute walk away. Seungcheol had managed to reason with him and got him to go get some last minute ingredients for the rest of the group. He pulls his thick winter coat around him in some hope it'll retain some of his warmth. He's got two jumpers on as well as the coat but he doesn't think that's enough. 

He grabs the things he needs and walks back to the apartment. He decides to walk past the train station as the path won't have as much snow covering it and making it twenty times more slippery then needs be. 

He sets a quick pace, wanting to get home into the warm as quick as humanly possible. The bags are weighing him down but it doesn't stop him. Then he spots someone. A boy, he couldn't be any older than him, stood on the street. He's soaked through and wearing barely anything for this weather. 

Soonyoung decides that he has to do something, even it means housing him for the night. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Soonyoung asks the boy as he walks up to him. 

"Uh.. Well.." 

"Do you have anywhere to go?" 

"No actually, but I'll find somewhere," 

"Yeah, not in this city you won't, you can come home with me, I promise I'm not a serial killer or anything!" Soonyoung smiles widely at the boy. 

"I couldn't possibly go home with you," he hesitates, not wanting to be a burden to the nice boy. 

"No come on, I can't have you in the cold all night," Soonyoung just drags the boy along with him. "Hey, what's your name?" 

"Jihoon," 

"Ah Soonyoung, that's me," 

Soonyoung soon went into a full explanation of the apartment Jihoon would be staying in and who everyone was. Even though it only took seven minutes to get back to the apartment Jihoon already felt like he knew half the guys since childhood. 

"Hey guys, I got the stuff and I brought someone back with me," 

Jihoon was surrounded by eleven other people, making him feel extremely claustrophobic. 

"Soonyoung what were you thinking?" A boy with black hair calls out at him. 

"Hyung look outside! It's snowing and he has nowhere to go! I couldn't leave him, he's tiny so we'll have space," Soonyoung justified to the group. 

"Yeah come on Seungcheol, one more could do no harm," another person shouted out. 

"Okay, okay," a guy Jihoon believed Seungcheol to be, laughed. "Welcome to the family eh?" 

Jihoon got a lengthy introduction of all twelve of the guys. Twelve more names and faces to learn. 

"Hey do you have anything to wear?" A guy Jihoon thinks is called Mingyu asks him. 

"Uhhhh no.." Jihoon trails, messing around with his fingers as he does. 

"You're so small that I don't think anything we can give you will fit, hey we'll all go out tomorrow to get you a new wardrobe!" Wonwoo smiled. 

Jihoon was soon given a pair of tracksuits, a ridiculously oversized jumper and some socks to change into. The jumper reached his mid thigh and engulfed his arms. He had to roll the ends of the tracksuit up so he could walk and the socks were fluffy as hell. 

Before he moved out of the room he was changing in Seungcheol was outside of the door waiting for him. 

"Hey Jihoon, me and the guys talked and we agreed at if you want to stay long term you can, Soonyoung mentioned you had nowhere to go, so?" 

"Really?" 

"Yes, really," 

"Thank you," Jihoon could have cried. He'd endured years of abuse from his parents and this was the lucky break he'd finally gotten. It felt like the weight of the world he'd be carrying around on his shoulders had finally been lifted off. 

Jihoon walked around with a spring in his step as he got a lesson on how to work the washing machine from Seokmin. He felt like he was definitely going to fit in here. 

-

_Two months later_

Jihoon had sure affirmed his place within the group in the first week of his arrival. He was known as the small, fluffy devil who was very angry before his fourth cup of coffee in the morning. He'd learned all the others places within the group and it hadn't been long until he found a job at a local coffee shop. Things were going to well to say the least. Sure, he hadn't told any of the guys about his past, nor about his depression or anxiety but he'd seemed to keep it under lock and key for this long, why not go longer? That was Jihoon's first mistake. 

The sun was setting. The only customers Jihoon would see from now on would be hectic collage students looking for a caffeine fix to guide them through a late night essay. It had been a stressful day at the café and Jihoon wanted nothing more than to go home, have some sort of dinner and sleep his anxiety off. 

He could feel it crawling underneath his skin. His hands were shaking as his made a latte for yet another twenty year old. He glanced at the clock, only ten more minutes until hopeful salvation. 

Then Jisoo walked in. 

"Hey Jihoon!" He smiled warmly at him. It made some of the anxiety dissipate fortunately. 

"Oh hey Jisoo, why are you here?" Jihoon asked nervously, it wasn't often any of the guys turned up to his work without some sort of bad news. 

"Oh Seungcheol wanted me to go to the store and said I should come get you before your shift ended," 

"Seungcheol knows i'm not four right?" Jihoon sighed as he wiped the counter off for the fourth time in ten minutes. 

"You look four," Jisoo joked, "no, he just said it was because the dorm needs more than I can carry," 

"Ah okay, give me five minutes," Jihoon said, backing away to the staff room as he did. All he wanted was to go home not have to interact with any other humans than Jisoo and the rest of the group. He crossed his fingers and prayed to God that he wouldn't have a panic attack. 

Jisoo was stood at the counter with his favourite coffee in front of him. He held his favourite cappuccino in his hands and held Jihoon's drink out to him. Jihoon took it gratefully and thanked Jisoo before leaving the cafe with him. 

Jihoon walked around am unfortunately crowded convenience store. His anxiety grew and grew as he was unwilling separated from Jisoo and had to walk around a lot to find him. He was just focused on getting home, nothing else. 

"Hey, you okay?" Jisoo asked Jihoon when he saw his shaking hands and nervous footsteps. 

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Jihoon answered a bit too quickly for it to seem genuine. 

"Okay, if you say so," Jisoo figured that if something was majorly wrong Jihoon would tell them, after all they were pretty much family now. 

The walk back from the store seemed never ending to Jihoon. Every noise, every sudden movement, Jihoon jumped. He was definitely on edge tonight. 

Jihoon let out a sigh of relief that he didn't know he was holding when he crossed the threshold of the apartment. Unfortunately the apartment was a bustle of noise and activity. Food was being prepared while the others were all captivated on some game they were all watching Seokmin and Chan were playing. This just made everything ten times more intense and Jihoon wished he could go back outside, where if anything at least it was a bit quieter. 

"Hey are you okay?" Seungcheol asked Jihoon as he placed he bag he was carrying onto the counter. 

"Yeah, yeah I'll be fine," Jihoon just waved him away and went into the bedroom. He quickly got changed into a massive jumper and some shorts before nearly falling asleep on his bunk. Jeonghan soon caught him and ordered him back into the kitchen. With a sigh he complied, favouring the busy kitchen over exposing his best kept secrets. 

"Hey, can you help?" Junhui called for Jihoon's help as he was just standing, waiting for someone to offer. Jihoon was happy to help as it got him distracted for a mere moment. 

With five of the thirteen guys helping, food was served up pretty quickly. It was only when Jihoon was sitting at the table watching everyone devour their food did he realise that his unnerving lack of appetite. And as unlucky as he is tonight Minghao managed to notice. 

"Not hungry?" He asked, passing a plate between Mingyu and Wonwoo as he did. 

"Um, no not really, I think I'm going to bed early," Jihoon messily excused himself, getting up and taking his empty plate as he did. He intended to put it back as it hadn't been used, before he went to bed but in his haste he had managed to fall over his own feet and now small, sharp pieces of porcelain were piercing into the soft skin of his palms. 

That was the last straw. 

Jihoon broke out into a full panic attack. Tears fell rapidly down his face as his breathing became increasingly sporadic and uneven. Strong hands gripped his body and pulled him out of the broken mess and onto the sofa. Anything he could hear was muffled and fuzzy, but he knew people were panicking making him feel like something was actually wrong. 

"Guys, guys! Stop crowding him, it'll just make him more nervous," Hansol shouted as the other eleven guys gathered around Jihoon. 

"What's happening?" Seungkwan called out openly to the group. 

"Just calm him down, that would be a good idea!" Jeonghan shouted over Jihoon's loud sobs. 

Muscular arms wrapped themselves around Jihoon's shaking figure. Seungcheol realised it was the only way he was going to be able to call Jihoon down effectively. 

"Hey, can you hear me? Just breathe okay, match my breathing," Seungcheol whispered to Jihoon as he began to take over exaggerated breaths to guide Jihoon. 

To the rest of the group it felt like an eternity, but in reality it took about ten minutes to fully calm Jihoon down. He immediately went slack in Seungcheol's arms and stayed like that. 

"Hey, are you okay now?" Seungcheol asked softly, wondering if it was okay to move him. Jihoon just nodded in response and grasped into Seungcheol's t shirt. 

"Yeah, I think it's time for bed for us all," Junhui muttered as he looked around the stressed group. 

Seungcheol picked Jihoon up and was going to deposit him in his bed but it was clear Jihoon didn't want to be left. Seungcheol didn't mind and just got into bed with him. Jihoon was led on his chest while he played with Jihoon's fluffy hair. 

About twenty minutes had passed before Seungcheol cut into the silence. 

"What happened out there? Was that the first time?"

"I'm so sorry.." Jihoon started before tears started to fall. 

"Why? Why are you sorry? I'm not angry, and neither are any of the guys. Jihoon, that wasn't your fault." 

"I kept it a secret for so long, I thought you would all hate me and not let me stay," 

"Why on earth would we ever do that? You've never been particularly open with life before two months ago, but we never minded, we just figured you didn't want to talk about it, we didn't realise it could be something like this." 

"I didn't think you'd all want to deal with it," 

"Jihoon, we're all here for you, if you don't want to talk about your past that's fine by me, I have absolutely no right to pry into something you don't want anyone knowing about, I just would have liked to know about something like this so I could have helped, this all could have been avoided." 

"I'm so so so sorry," 

"Stop apologising, it's happened now okay, I'm just happy that you're okay," 

"I should have told everyone," 

"Well not much can be done now, but I'm here to listen if you ever feel like spilling your guts," 

Jihoon let out a small chuckle before burying himself into Seungcheol's side. 

_"Goodnight Jihoon, sweet dreams,"_

-

_Four months later_

It had happened and few more times after the first incident. But Jihoon figured it was time to 'spill his guts' to the man himself, Seungcheol. 

It was late. In fact it's three am and the apartment is silent. Jihoon has been having a slight battle with insomnia in the past few months and after his mind started playing some sick game with him he decided to wake Seungcheol up. 

"Hyung?" Jihoon whispered, this voice thick from disuse. 

"Mmm? Jihoon? What's wrong?" Seungcheol murmured, half asleep. 

"I can't sleep," 

Seungcheol slowly got up and lead a small and tired Jihoon into the living room. He shoved a coat around his shoulders and but one on himself. 

"Get your shoes on," 

"What? Why?" 

"You'll find out soon enough," 

And there they were. On top of the apartment building at three am, gazing down at the abandoned streets. 

"I think I'm ready to tell you my life story," 

Seungcheol didn't answer, he just swung an arm around Jihoon and pulled him closer. Jihoon took this as a sign to start talking. 

He decided against going into full detail and opted for the shorter but no less painful explanation. He could feel cold, wet tears fall down his cheeks as he told his story. How his dad would beat him until he couldn't walk. How he'd have to clean up the piles of bottles that would litter the house on a day to day basis. How he saw his mother dying in front of his eyes, but did nothing. How he could have taken her drugs away but didn't. How, in the end, he ran away. How he ended up outside the train station on that cold January night. How he still carries the memories and the baggage. 

"Your scars run deep Jihoon," Seungcheol whispered matter of factly as Jihoon finished. His cheeks were wet with tears, he held Jihoon a little firmer than usual. 

_"You only get scars once you've healed,"_

That was it. The rest of the night was filled with soft touches and whispered reassurances. They remained on the roof until the cold bit open their fragile skin. Jihoon felt the weight of his world lifted off his shoulders. He wanted to cry it felt so good. Seungcheol promised he'd tell the others so Jihoon didn't have to explain eleven more times. 

With that Jihoon felt better than he'd ever felt in his entire life. Everyone knew and everyone didn't mind. Everyone just accepted it and went on with their lives. It made Jihoon smile when Jisoo noticed he was having a stressful day and just made him stop for a few minutes to talk it out. When Wonwoo just gave him random, reassuring hugs just because. When Mingyu calmed him down after a long day. When Soonyoung told him it was okay cry. When Minghao sat with him on a particularly bad day, he said no words but was there for him when he needed to cry. It all made Jihoon feel wanted for once in his life. 

Jihoon was so grateful for the family he'd accidentally stumbled upon, even if he didn't mean to become such a big part of their lives.


End file.
